#SPLUNK FORWARDER HOW TO#

Using a robust architecture to automate the deployment, management and maintenance of Splunk Forwarders at scale is the crux of a comprehensive Splunk forwarder management solution. A Comprehensive Splunk Forwarder Management Solution Solution Architecture The risks outlined above are driving the need for a comprehensive Splunk forwarder management solution – using a traditional Splunk deployment server isn’t enough. If the configurations are not managed, prohibited data could be ingested accidentally. Forwarder configurations enable “black-listing,” the ingested files that contain prohibited data. Forwarders are the first line of defense for preventing unauthorized data being ingested into Splunk – many Splunk deployments prohibit the ingest of PII, PHI, or other sensitive data.Active configuration management of Splunk forwarders is basic hygiene for security. Forwarders should be secured – just like any other enterprise software application, the forwarder software and underlying OS should be secured and patched to address vulnerabilities.Forwarder versions are interdependent with versions of Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud – if forwarder versions are not kept up to date, they will not function properly with the Splunk instance(s) that are receiving data.There are three primary risks if Splunk forwarders are not actively maintained: The Risks of Poor Splunk Forwarder Configuration and Management

#SPLUNK FORWARDER HOW TO#

In this article, we explain the most detrimental risks of not maintaining Splunk forwarders and how to avoid them. Like any critical piece of enterprise software, Splunk forwarders must be deployed and configured correctly, and must be maintained to ensure operational integrity. Forwarders are the critical element in any Splunk architecture for successfully getting data ingested into Splunk.įor customers operating Splunk at scale, the population of forwarders can be in the hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands. Splunk Forwarders are critical components for any Splunk environment, both for Splunk Enterprise running on-prem or Splunk Cloud.